(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body reinforcement structure.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a vehicle body reinforcement structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,704, for example, has been known.
This conventional vehicle body reinforcement structure includes a dash lower cross member provided at an engine room side of a dashboard lower panel and extends in the lateral direction of a vehicle. The dash lower cross member also has a tunnel reinforcement that extends from an intermediate portion thereof along an upper surface of a tunnel part of a floor panel in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A rear-most end of the tunnel reinforcement is connected to a cross member mounted on an upper surface of the floor panel and extends in the lateral direction of the vehicle. This structure is intended to increase the stiffness of the tunnel part of the floor panel and to absorb a load applied by a frontal impact against the vehicle.
In the above-described conventional structure, however, the stiffness of the vehicle body is enhanced only at a certain portion of the vehicle body, i.e. the floor panel.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body reinforcement structure that may increase the vehicle body stiffness.
To attain the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle body reinforcement structure comprising: a vehicle body front member provided in a front part of a vehicle; a vehicle body rear member provided in a rear part of the vehicle; and a reinforcing member that extends between the vehicle body front member and the vehicle body rear member in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, at least a portion of the reinforcing member being totally spaced apart from a floor panel such that said reinforcing member does not make contact with the floor panel.